


It's Stupid

by CosmicCove



Category: Anime Campaign! (Web Series)
Genre: And then friends who help you overcome said self-doubt, First Kiss, It's my crackship and I get to choose portrayal!, Love Confessions, M/M, Pining, Self-Doubt, anyways welcome to the GuiRick club, implied mutual pining, no proof reading yet sorry, not beta read we die like Crackerjack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:54:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24436999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CosmicCove/pseuds/CosmicCove
Summary: "Can I ask you something?  It’s stupid.  But-”
Relationships: Guile Manning/Rick Shades, Sylvester "Sylvie" Ashling & Guile Manning, Sylvester “Sylvie” Ashling & Rick Shades
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	It's Stupid

It was stupid. 

It was stupid because Guile considered Rick a friend, yes, but that was supposed to be it. That should have been it. He liked that Rick was so kind to him, and would protest that Guile’s epithet or past did not make him a bad person. “After all, you’re trying to change,” Rick once told him, “And trying to change for the better is not something that bad people do.” He had never heard something like that before, much less been told that. He didn’t really believe it, but it was a nice thought that he held onto regardless. 

It was stupid because Rick deserved so much better. Rick was so kind, so gentle. He was good at making sure that others were safe, and he was good at caring. He had so many emotions to openly express. Guile could never dream of being so honest about feeling heartbroken sadness or intense joy. Rick did so much for others, especially the kids. He had sewn up a hole in Molly’s bear hoodie when she’d come running to him, eyes filled with tears, and he’d play silly games with Sylvie whenever he noticed Sylvie was bored. What had Guile ever done? Given a child a gun? Been absolutely clueless about how his only friends were feeling at all times because he couldn’t seem to read people even if he tried? Rick once told him that Sylvie considered him his best friend for a reason, but Guile couldn’t see why. He really was a horrible friend, wasn’t he? 

It was stupid because he had no right to be falling in love. He looked at all the things Rick had done that Guile could never hope to accomplish, and absolutely admired it. Maybe he had an expressionless face, but when Rick talked to him, it made his heart flutter, especially when Rick said nice things about him, even though Guile knew they weren’t true. How dare he let his emotions get the better of him like this? He should know better. He knew that his epithet made maintaining relationships impossible, the only exception being Sylvie, and it was a mystery to Guile how he managed to do that, or rather, why Sylvie hadn’t left him after getting better friends. Guile made a real effort to be Sylvie’s friend, sure, but that didn’t mean he was a good friend. 

It was stupid, and he couldn’t stop staring at him from across the room. He wanted so bad to hold Rick’s gentle hands and run his fingers through his soft, purple hair. Rick had a laugh that was loud and beautiful, unlike Guile’s barely audible laughter. He loved his eyes, his voice, his smile. He had no right to. It was stupid. He was stupid. He was stupid because he had a crush on Rick, and he had no right to, because Rick deserved better. 

“Are you even listening to me?” Sylvie asked. Oh right, Sylvie was telling him about his new thesis paper. 

“Sorry,” Guile mumbled, looking down at his hands. He shouldn’t be staring anyways. 

Sylvie glanced at where Guile had been looking. He wondered, “What was distracting you, anyways? You seemed really fixated on something, but all I see is Rick talking to my uncles.” 

“It was nothing kid. I was distracted by my thoughts more than anything.” Guile sighed. “Continue, please. I’ll listen this time.” 

“Well, the rest might not make sense now,” Sylvie pointed out, Guile picking up on the annoyance in his voice, “It’d be confusing.” 

“It was about… Let me think… I was about an epithet’s effect on how people view the world, right?” Guile recalled, “Like, how people with certain epithets have certain ideals based off of them? And how an epithet can affect someone’s moral compass.” 

Sylvie looked at him surprised for a moment, before a smile spread across his face. “You were listening!” 

“Well, yeah. I like hearing you talk about this psychology stuff,” Guile replied with a shrug, “You’re so passionate about it. It’s nice.” 

“Oh wow! Thanks!” Sylvie grinned. He paused, and his expression changed to a more serious demeanor. “Something’s bothering you, isn’t it? And it has something to do with them, right?” Sylvie gestured to Rick and his uncles. 

"No. Honestly, kid, I promise I was just overthinking." 

“You’re lying to a licensed psychologist, Guile.” 

“it’s nothing. Really.” 

“Did something happen? Did you guys have some sort of falling out that I’m unaware of? Or-” 

“No, nothing like that. I really wouldn’t want that.” 

“Oh, good!” Sylvie sighed, relieved, “But then, what is bothering you.” 

Guile’s eyes darted away from Sylvie. “It’s honestly not important.” 

“You shouldn’t say ‘honestly’ if you aren’t going to be.” 

“Well, I don’t think it’s important. Really. It just looks like it does to you.” 

“Guile, c’mon, you were very invested in whatever it was you were thinking about. You were staring like you couldn’t take your eyes off of it! Like you saw something you wanted very badly! I thought, like, you felt bad about something, but obviously nothing bad happened, so I don’t get it! It was like-!” Sylvie cut off suddenly, wide-eyed realization taking over his concern. “Were you staring at Rick specifically?” 

Guile didn’t answer, he just looked away, his lips pursed like he was annoyed, but his eyes, longing and slightly sad, all but gave him away. 

“Guile, do you like Rick? I mean, _like_ like him?” 

Guile still didn’t respond, but a telltale warm began spreading to his cheeks. 

Sylvie gasped slowly. “You do!” exclaimed, “You do have a crush on him! Oh, this is awesome! My best friends, in love!” 

“In love? Well, I wouldn’t say-” 

“You’re right, that’s not how love works. It’s all about brain chemicals,” Sylvie said. He giggled giddily, “Still! This is so cool!” 

Guile scoffed. “It’s stupid, kid. Just forget about it, alright?” 

“It’s not stupid!” Sylvie argued, “You should tell him!” 

"Tell him?" Guile asked, unable to mask the fear in his voice. Sylvie was taken aback. "What? What's wrong?" 

"You just… You looked scared. I've never seen you look scared before," Sylvie admitted, "I didn't think you could be scared." 

Guile almost smiled at that remark, but he was far too distracted by the nervousness he felt thinking about confessing his feelings. He didn’t say anything back, he just shook his head. 

“Look, you don’t have to tell him, but the best advice I can give is, whatever it is you’re afraid might happen because of this- You can’t know what will happen if you never try,” Sylvie told him gently. He put a hand on Guile’s shoulder, leaning up a bit so he could do so. “Do what you think is best for you, but keep that in mind.” 

“Sylvester! We have to go now, buddy!” Chappy called. 

“Okay! Just a second!” Sylvie called back to his uncle. He turned to Guile and gave him one last reassuring smile. “I’m sure whatever choice you make will be good. After all, you made it.” With that, Sylvie hopped up and walked over to his uncles. 

Guile watched as Sylvie and his uncles left. He watched as Rick lingered. It looked like he was going to leave soon, though. Guile had to make a choice quickly, although the thoughts of things going either way made his stomach twist into knots. He stared down blankly at his hands. _You can’t know what will happen if you never try._ He took a deep breath, and stood up. “This is so stupid,” he whispered to himself, “I’m going to get hurt.” 

He walked over to Rick, the butterflies in his stomach growing more agitated by the close proximity. Rick looked up at him and smiled, which made traces of his previous flush return to his cheeks. “Hi, Guile! I saw you talking with Sylvie. He really appreciates that, you know. It all goes over my head, and his uncles are always so busy. They do their best though,” Rick rambled, then asked, “Are you getting ready to leave too?” 

“Actually, I have to talk to you about something.” 

“Okay, what up?” 

The emotion Guile was feeling was indescribable, and made him uncomfortable. He crossed his arms instinctually for comfort. “I was wondering if… Um… I think- Maybe we should-” Guile stuttered, “I think- I’ve been feeling- And you and I- Oh…” Guile sighed, a blush thoroughly covering his face by now. “Nevermind,” he mumbled, “It’s stupid.” 

“Are you alright?” Rick asked, “You’re turning red.” 

Guile’s face only reddened more from that. He turned away to hide it. “I’m fine.” 

“Well, if you say so,” Rick hummed, blatantly unconvinced, “I’d better get going now.” 

This was one of those sickening moments where Guile felt like he was about to cry. He turned back around, suddenly sure that he couldn’t care less about his warm cheeks. “I love you!” The words tumbled out of him before he could think, and time seemed to slow as horror filled Guile’s heart. The surprised expression on Rick’s face did not help. “Sorry.” 

“Why?” Rick asked. 

“...What?” 

“Why are you sorry?” 

Guile laughed near-silently, tears threatening to form in his eyes. “It’s just- It’s stupid, isn’t it?” Guile answered, half-chuckling, half sobbing, “I’m me; I betray people and I never know what to say when people need advice, and I’m hardly a good friend! And you! You’re you! You’re everything I’m not! You’re so kind and sweet and you care for your friends because you’re a good friend! You deserve so much better than me, and I dared to love you. It’s so stupid! I’m so fucking stupid…” Guile never found himself very expressive, but here he was, staring at the ground, an expression of utter despair on his face, as his vision blurred from the tears falling from his eyes. 

Rick walked over to Guile, and gentle cupped his face in his hands so that Guile was looking at him. Gently, Rick wiped the tears from Guile’s eyes. Guile just stared at him, empty and confused. What was this? Rick spoke, “You know, it didn’t take long for you to affect me.” What? “Someone so cool and calm he can keep a level head in the midst of panic. Someone who prefers a few, nigh unbreakable friendships over as many as he possibly can have without them all falling apart. Someone who understands the extent of their power and tries his best to control it so he doesn’t hurt anyone.” Rick looked into Guile’s eyes earnestly. “Not to mention, you’re pretty cute.” 

Guile blinked, the last of the tears rolling down his cheeks and landing onto the ground. “Do- Do you mean?” 

Rick smiled that heartwarming smile he has. “I love you, too.” 

Guile felt his breath catch. “Really?” 

“Really.” 

Guile laughed quietly. He looked up at Rick. “Thank god,” he sighed. 

“So, do you want to get lunch or something sometime?” Rick asked him. 

Guile nodded. “Yeah. Yeah! I’d like that.” 

Rick started to slowly stop cupping Guile’s face with his hands, but Guile put his hands onto Rick’s to keep them there. Rick blushed softly, a dusty blue covering his cheeks to compliment Guile’s rosy ones. It took Guile’s breath away. A blue blush! How beautiful! “Wow,” he breathed, “You’re so… Handsome.” 

Rick laughed nervously. “Thank you. I- Yeah, thank you.” He laughed again. 

It suddenly hit Guile how close they were to each other; how Rick's hands were gently holding his face, how they were inches apart. “Can I ask you something? It’s stupid. But-” 

“It’s not supid,” Rick promised, “Whatever it is.” 

“I can maybe… Kiss you?” he asked quietly. 

Rick’s blue blush deepened. “S- Sure,” he stuttered, nervous. 

The suspense of leaning towards Rick was terrifying. Guile had never kissed anyone before, but he wanted this to be a good first kiss. It was such a small amount of time, but it seemed to last eternity. He could hardly process what was happening. There was a short moment where he could hear Rick’s quiet breathing. 

And then his lips were pressed against Rick’s. There was a moment where Rick didn’t react, like he was too surprised to move, but then he was kissing back. Suddenly, the eternity of the moment was the best thing Guile could ask for. It was sweet and gentle and everything he had ever wanted. The kiss was completely ordinary, but to Guile it meant the whole world. It was so short yet so wonderful, and he felt completely satisfied when they parted only seconds later. 

He was breathless, and his heart was pounding. 

“Wow,” he and Rick murmured at the same time, and then burst into laughter. 

“This is… Crazy,” Rick chuckled, “I didn’t think that you loved me too.” 

“I didn’t either, I just took the chance,” Guile told him. Sylvie was right after all. He wouldn’t have guessed something so nice would have happened. 

“You’re braver than me, I suppose,” Rick said with a smile and a bashful shrug. 

“You want to talk about bravery? You’re brave for agreeing to be with me,” Guile protested. 

“I promise, it’s not as bad as you think,” Rick swore, “Remember, I have dark wizard powers that let me borrow your abilities.” 

Guile smiled, finally reassured completely. “Yeah. Thank you.” 

“See you…” Rick paused to think a moment, “Saturday?” 

Guile nodded, “Yeah, Saturday works.” 

Rick grinned brightly. “See you Saturday!” 

He did it. He actually did it. He told Rick how he felt. He had a date! Excitement flooded him. Everything went smoothly. He didn’t know he had it in him to just come out and say it, but it was so liberating. For once, he didn’t feel like the things he was doing was stupid. It wasn’t stupid. He wasn’t stupid.

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to crackship/rarepair hell. I've been calling the ship GuiRick cuz why not? It's also twenty minutes till four AM here.


End file.
